


Spirits Above

by Flamestar_Of_Flameclan



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-13 07:41:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17484011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamestar_Of_Flameclan/pseuds/Flamestar_Of_Flameclan
Summary: Young Spiritpaw never had an easy life. Her life, from the moment she was born, was filled with decisions that set her down a dark path. A path she was destined to walk. What will Spiritpaw do when her whole world is shattered? When she is exiled for a thing she didn't do?-"I just wanted to apologize for everything that I ever did to you."-Her vision stayed the same, but she had this unexplainable urge to kill. She crouched into an attack position and started circling him, slowly, carefully.-This work is being written on FanFiction, so updates there will come more regularly.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> !Prologue!
> 
> -
> 
> "Here we have the cursed exiled."

Prologue:

I am running, running from everything I have ever known, running from my life, running from myself.

I lost everything that I have ever known.

My mentor, murdered. Everybody thought it was me, but I was there, I saw.

She killed him.

Sliced through, he crumpled, eyes fading. She chuckled, grinned at me and pronounced these words:

"Here we have the cursed exiled."

Then she sped away, into the darkness.

I returned back to camp, she was there sitting and smiling innocently like nothing happened.

My leader thought it was me, exiled me. She watched with satisfaction in her eyes.

My clan and my family chased me away.

Their names will forever be scarred into my heart.

All of this pain has led me down a path that I will walk happily.

Breezeclan... I will end you.


	2. Chapter 1 - Left in the Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rewritten - (4.9.2018)
> 
> \------
> 
> "Well then," he said coming closer to her, "you should learn."
> 
> Spiritkit saw Smokeleg move before she was thrown back with a stinging cheek and ear. She was winded, her heart was pounding. Spiritkit moved her head to stare at the few cats mingling around camp. Are you okay with this? Spiritkit wanted to scream at them. Spiritkit caught the eye of some of them, most looked away, eyes full of guilt. Some narrowed their eyes at her.

Chapter 1 : Left in the shadows

Spiritkit was happy today! Today was the day she would prove to her mother and father that she wasn't worthless, that she wasn't just a nuisance. She was hopeful, but in the back of her mind, she knew that the outcome would always be the same. If they couldn't love her now, why would they love her when she was an adult? Spiritkit pushed those thoughts away, once again trying to convince herself that she would prove herself.

Spiritkit wanted to go catch something! She, as said before, wanted to prove herself today. She wanted to prove that she was just as good as her sister, Goldenkit. Spiritkit knew that if Goldenkit went out and caught something everyone would be amazed, their parents would fuss over her and that she probably would be given any punishment. It just how their family was, Goldenkit was the perfect one, the one that the whole clan adored. The one that their father, Smokeleg, brought tasty prey and taught different things to. The one that their mother, Silvermist, cared for and fussed over. Spiritkit was the one the whole clan disliked for some reason. She was the one her father abused because she wasn't as good as Goldenkit. She was the one her mother screamed at.

 _Maybe they just want me to be better?_ Spiritkit scoffed at that idea, who was she kidding? Her parents despised her and nothing she would do would make them love her. Just some time ago, she had unrealistic expectations, dreams even. She needed to get back to earth and remain there. Leave her mark and move on. No one knew how big Spiritkit's mark would be...

.xi

Spiritkit settled down in the edge of the camp, near the nursery. She wanted to nap a little before she went out, maybe think too. As time passed, Spiritkit got more lost in thought. She was thinking about Breezeclan and how it worked. She was so lost in thought that she didn't see a golden silhouette creeping behind her.

"Goldenclan, attack!" Someone yowled behind Spiritkit as she was suddenly attacked by shapes her size.

Spiritkit felt fear in her veins for a few moments before realizing this was Goldenkit and her gang. Goldenkits gang was composed of Ryekit, a small wheat orange she-cat with red paws and tail, Hazelkit, a light brown lean she-cat with darker paws, ear tips and tail. Lastly, there was Rabbitkit, a stocky grey tom with long dark, light paws and a short tail. He resembled a rabbit, hence the name. They were all younger than Spiritkit and Goldenpaw by one moon.

Spiritkit felt small, sharp claws dig into her pelt. The claws scored down her sides, drawing a small amount of blood. To Spiritkit this wasn't painful but she was sick of this. Goldenkit and her gang always did this, attacked her. They were smart about it though, they made it look like a rough but friendly tussle. The clan wouldn't care either way, they disregarded these occurrences.

Spiritkit was sick of this, sick of Goldenkit hurting her. This time, Spiritkit would fight back. Spiritkit composed herself, her eyes zoomed onto Goldenkit who was in front of her. She unsheathed her claws and scored them down Goldenkits pelt whilst yelling to stop and back off. Goldenkit eyes became angry as if they were sneering at Spiritkit and then she smirked. Goldenkit started yowling loudly, attracting attention. Silvermist, Spiritkit's mother, burst out of the den and ran to her firstborn, checking Goldenkits injuries, asking her if she was okay.  _Goldenkit was making it look way worse than it actually is!_ Spiritkit angrily thought. Silvermist asked who did this and Goldenkit lifted a trembling paw pointing towards Spiritkit. Silvermist's dark eyes glared at Spiritkit. Trying to contain the anger within, Silvermist gave up and started yelling.

"Why did you hurt your sister?" Silvermist's eyes were wild, angry. " Why did you ruin her pelt? You, you  _CURSED_  creature! I knew that you were always a mistake!"

 _What._ Spiritkit's mind went blank. That was really harsh, parents weren't supposed to do this, were they? Granted, Spirikit knew her parents didn't love her, but still, that was very harsh. Spiritkit felt prickling at the corner of her eyes, she could not allow herself to cry.

"What is the meaning of this?" Spiritkit's father, Smokeleg, padded towards them.

"She hurt me! I just wanted to play!" Goldenkit wailed, pointing at Spiritkit.

"How could you?" Smokleg's eyes were pools of cold anger. "You were jealous of your sister, weren't you? Of course you were."

 _No. Why would I be jealous of her?_ Spiritkit glared at her father. Smokeleg saw her glare and scowled.

"Well then," he said coming closer to her, "you should learn."

Spiritkit saw Smokeleg move before she was thrown back with a stinging cheek and ear. She was winded, her heart was pounding. Spiritkit moved her head to stare at the few cats mingling around camp.  _Are you okay with this?_ Spiritkit wanted to scream at them. Spiritkit caught the eye of some of them, most looked away, eyes full of guilt. Some narrowed their eyes at her.

 _Why?_ She knew why, her mother spread rumours. Silvermist said that a Starclan came to her and told her that Spiritkit was cursed. The clan believed her. Maybe because her mother and father were respected warriors or maybe because the clan had such a strong belief in Starclan, maybe both. Spiritkit didn't care for the excuse. She just wanted to know why no one cared for her.

Just like that, Spiritkit was left in the dirt, alone. She stood up, racing away to her secret place, her wounds hurting. The secret place was a stream she found, it as enclosed by rocks, bushes and thorns. No one knew about it. It was Spiritkit's safe place. She started cleaning her injuries, deciding that she would treat them tomorrow. Spiritkit settled down on the big, soft, comfortable nest she made. Spiritkit felt exhaustion creep up on her, and she let it.


	3. Chapter 2 - Friend Or Foe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not rewritten/updated. This was made in 2017!!!!
> 
> (please read through this, the mistakes and the confusion is cleared up in the next chapter)
> 
> -
> 
> Her vision stayed the same, but she had this unexplainable urge to kill. She crouched into an attack position and started circling him.

Chapter 2: Friend or Foe?

When Spiritkit woke up all she could feel was pain. Burning pain, worst of the many pains she experienced in her young life. From past experiences, she knew that her wounds were infected. She didn't care, not anymore. Why do I live to only be punished for things I do not do? What if I could be stronger faster? Maybe I could but how? No one wants me... Often these thoughts crossed her head, she could not get rid of them. Spiritkit had ambition and sometimes gnawed at her, telling her she had to do things she didn't want to. Spiritkit wanted power, she wanted to punish those who have wronged her, tortured her. Now, was not the time for that. Spiritkit shakily stood up to her paws, ignoring the searing pain on her sides she quietly made her way to the oh so dear nursery where her lovely family was. She didn't want to, but she needed to know what was happening. She needed to calculate what they would do next. You see, Spiritkit was not the weak persona she showed on the outside, on the inside she was intelligent and by that she knew that she was destined for something greater that wanted to do something that would leave a great impact on the world of the 6 clans, Starclan and the Dark Forest. So, there she was shakily standing on her paws, not knowing what to do and how to get her revenge on the ones that hurt her. She hastily took a step, only to wince. She didn't fall, she never showed weakness, even if she was alone. That was one of her rules. She quietly made her way to the nursery, but soon she heard voices inside of it. Laughing, probably about her. She simply avoided the nursery and made her way to a dark corner in camp. Soon sleep was overcoming her, calling her to the dark depths of dreams. Before she knew she was asleep. She blacked out, again.

She woke up in a dark forest. Mist was surrounding her paws and body, but she didn't feel scared, she felt relieved that she was not in camp. Soon, the mist started to circle around Spiritkit, making her feel claustrophobic. Still, somehow she could still see the outlines of the trees quite clearly through the thick fog or mist. No footsteps were heard, no breathing, nothing. Spiritkit just stood there, unable to move because of her stomach flipping with fear. Her brilliant green eyes searched for a clue of where she was but nothing was found instead of fog, just mist and fog.

"What is a kit like you doing here?" Said a deep voice behind her. Spiritkit jumped, ready for attack, she unsheathed her claws and growled at her nearly attacker.

"Woah, woah. Slow down. I won't hurt you," the attacker raised his paws in response, "you came here for a reason and as a member of this clan I have a deal for you." Whilst saying that his eyes were hinted in the misty light, thanks to Spiritkit's observant vision she was able to pick that out.

"If you have a deal, why not keep it to yourself and use me? Hurt me? Don't worry go ahead, I'm used to it." She replied, quite bitterly, to the black toms response. His electric blue ice chips flickered to her jade ones.

" I have a proposition," he replied to her bitter retort " I just want to make you stronger, train you, make you be more powerful. You would be able to suppress all of the cats and still be the Spiritkit you are." At that Spiritkit let out a toothy grin but it quickly turned into a frown.

"Do you really mean that, do you really want to make me stronger, do you really want to make me more powerful?" Her eyes narrowed as if expecting a retort, but when nothing came she continued, " If this is not a trick, I accept. I do really want to hurt everyone that caused me the mental and physical pain. Train me then. I want to be strong." The tom smiled at that and flicked his black tail tip to her, that meant: follow me. She did, but she was cautious and somehow scared. The tom once again looked back, checking if Spiritkit was following. She was. Some minuets later they stopped at a large clearing, the tom bounded to the middle of it, once again Spiritkit followed slower. Once she was in the middle the tom sat down.

"Today, we will be practicing the basic moves of fighting. The first one I'm going to show you is the front paw slash." The tom said with pride like he created it.

"I know sooo original." Spiritkit sarcastically replied to him, trying to brighten up the mood. It worked, the tom rolled his eyes playfully and smirked.

"Without any interruptions, this is how you do it." The tom extended his front paw and sliced downward with it at the face or of his imaginary opponent.

"And that is how you do it." He demonstrated the move again whilst smiling. Then, Spiritkit tried it, be the toms response she got it correct, but to herself she thought she didn't. So, she tried the move again and again, she smiled to herself when she finally got it perfect.

"Finally, I thought you would be doing this all night." The tom chuckled, " The second move is the Frontpaw Blow, It goes like this," He brought his front paw down hard on his imaginary opponent. Spiritkit noted that his claws were sheathed. " Again. I'll do it again and then I will show you the back kick."

He lashed out with his back legs, it was quite a powerful kick, but the tom could kick much stronger than that.

" Yup, pretty easy for you. Just lash out and kick really hard with your back legs. Oh and also in a real battle, you would have to judge the distance and just kick. It's quite funny to hit them in the jaw. Their face!" The tom laughed and instructed to do the move. Spiritkit did it a few times and got it correct.

" Just as I said pretty easy. One more move for tonight. This may a bit soon but would you rather learn the killing bite or the the jump and pin?" the tom said with narrowed eyes as thought calculating her answer.

"Duh. What did I tell you in the beginning? The killing bite, what else do I want to do?" Spiritkit rolled her eyes at his stupidity, the tom copied her, then Spiritkit crossed her paws, he copied her again.

"Duh, Im so amazing I want revenge on my family!" The tom mimicked in a high pitched she-cat voice. Something unexpected happened Spiritkit's eyes turned red, like scarlet red, the colour of blood. Her vision stayed the same, but she had this unexplainable urge to kill. She crouched into an attack position and started circling him. The tom still sat there, kind of confused. he looked at her in the eyes and that was enough to give Spiritkit the chance to leap at him, flying swiftly over she kept perfect balance on her back legs and quickly turned and raked her claws across his pelt. The tom leapt at her and she backflipped to the side of him. The tom flicked his hind legs and spun and reared up on his back legs, spun raked his claws over her muzzle and leapt for her back, but spiritkit was faster and darted under his belly and raked her claws across his belly. After performing that she hit his back legs. He was prepared and caught Spiritkit and slammed her on the ground. She stopped struggling and her eyes became her normal colour and she settled down

"Sorry! Just all the anger came out. Ya you ok?" Spiritkit was embarrassed, she cast her eyes down.

"Wow! That was amazing! I have never seen someone who did this so good! That was good for today." The tom was grinning, but his eyes held a bit of shock on her skills that she made up. " See you tomorrow night! Bye!"

Spiritkit smiled back and started to fade.

Spiritkit woke up and looked around. She found herself in camp and shrugged.  _Yay I'm back..._


	4. Chapter 3: Here we go again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> " I feel offended, you thought that I wasn't real." that line was delivered quite playfully by the tom. " Welp, I kinda have to go but some last tips. Keep your tail straight, shoulders even, try to avoid being so close to the ground and watch your paws. Since I am feeling like being a horrible cat I am going to go now." the tom smiled before turning around and walking away with a skip in his step.
> 
> So there Spiritkit was left, dumbfounded. Wondering what in Starclan's name just happened, she fully knew what but her brain couldn't believe that a cat could be so... weird and funny for some strange reason.
> 
> What a weird cat... I like him...

_Chapter 3: Here we go again_

Spiritkit's mind was foggy when she woke up. The fogginess was soon replaced by confusion. Was the encounter in the misty forest real or just a figment of her imagination? She hoped it was real, she did, in fact, want to be powerful. Slowly Spiritkit stood up, aware of her aching muscles and wounds. It was nearly dawn when Spiritkit woke up, yet there were still some cats out, probably waiting for the dawn patrol. She quietly made her way into the medicine cat den, first checking if the medicine cat was asleep, fortunately, Windfur was asleep, snoring slightly in his dream. He kept all of his herbs organized and it was easy to spot Marigold. Spiritkit quietly snuck in and grabbed some of it, not enough for him to notice it was gone but enough for her wounds to heal. The reason that Spiritkit knew about Marigold is that she befriended the recently deceased medicine cat, Lilynose. She taught Spiritkit about minor injuries, colds, how to apply bandages and keep the infection out, dangerous herbs and poisons. It was fun for Spiritkit but it wasn't something she would have liked to do for the rest of her life. Hence, now she knew how to treat basic things, it wasn't much but it was useful. She snuck out of the medicine cat den and padded to her secret place. When she got there, she found some cobweb, chewed the Marigold into a pulp and applied to her injuries, not forgetting to bind them with cobweb. Then she proceeded to go over the moves that she learned in her head. Her mind was becoming mistier and mistier. The last thought that crossed her head was.  _Damn, I need to sleep less..._

_.xi_

It was sunhigh when Spiritkit woke up, again. Her wounds felt much better, the infection nearly gone. She was surprised, she had not expected that the wounds would heal so fast. Nevertheless, she was relieved. She could finally go through the moves that she somehow learned with the mysterious tom! She quickly went through the forepaw slash, frontpaw blow and the back kick. Then she slowed down and worked on the precision. She spent a good hour on that before she picked up speed. She practised each move separately before combining them. She spun on her front legs before delivering the hit and then spun back and did the forepaw slash before doing the frontpaw blow. She did it again and again until she was satisfied she had her desired speed and accuracy. She switched up the combinations before running through them again. Only when it was sundown did she stop. Spiritkit was panting hard when she was done. She did work hard for a few hours. When her breathing finally slowed she allowed herself to relax for a bit, before starting to walk laps around her secret place. She didn't want her muscles to be cramped tomorrow.

Suddenly, her stomach gurgled, wanting food. Spiritkit felt a quick sliver of surprise before realizing that she did not know in fact when was the last time she ate. It was more than a day, was it not? She did not fancy being screamed at for being 'ungrateful' and 'taking more than supposed' from the fresh-kill pile. Hopefully, her parents would be too engrossed in Goldenkit to notice her take something. Since she couldn't hunt on her own yet she had to take her fill from it. Sighing, Spiritkit pushed herself out of secret place and made her way to camp. The camp wasn't far, per say, but it was a good distance away. Well, it was far enough to raise suspicion if she was spotted heading back so Spiritkit had to be careful, like usual. She started heading towards camp, staying in the shadows.

When Spiritkit made it to camp she could hear the light chatter of her clanmates. They were all engrossed in what they were doing and would not notice if she slipped by quietly, right? She hoped that was what would happen. She slinked through the camp wall and stayed in the outer part, steadily making her way towards the freshkill pile whilst remaining unseen. When she was as close to the freshkill pile as possible she started heading towards it. Keeping her back hunched and head low, her eyes, however, remained vigilant. She quickly picked up a small rabbit before heading back to the shaded part of the camp. She saw a couple of cats there and hesitated, she didn't want to interact with anyone and feel even more alienated even more than she is. She turned around before finding another spot that was shaded, it was more or less obstructed from the view of the camp. She settled down and started to chew on her rabbit. It was good but quite chewy, but who was she to complain? She couldnt catch prey yet, could she?  _Maybe I should try to catch something for myself,_ thought Spiritkit,  _should I try tonight since I got a lot of sleep?_ Hence, it was decided that she would go outside tonight and try to catch something for herself. Keyword, try.

.xi

It was nearing moonhigh when Spiritkit decided to leave camp. She knew that she had to be very careful since Breezeclans territory was mostly moorland which meant that she could get spotted. Spiritkit crept her way to the dirt-place tunnel, she was really not looking forward to the smell. She was right. The smell was not pleasant, at all. It was dung after all, so that wasn't much of a surprise. Spiritkit continued creeping until she reached the end of the tunnel, she then started heading towards the forested area of Breezeclans territory.

Spiritkit finally got to the forested area and crouched down in what she thought was the hunting crouch. She did it again and started creeping forwards, she then pounced and smiled happily.  _I think I got it!_ she thought. Spiritkit then started to look for some prey, she wanted to catch something after all. Padding forwards with her nose in the air Spiritkit finally scented something, it smelled like a mouse to her and it was one. She crouched down and started creeping forwards, step by step, everything was going all right before she stepped on a twig which scared the mouse away. This happened multiple times before Spiritkit flopped down onto the ground and started questioning her life decisions. What did she do to deserve this horrible fate?  _Okay, maybe I am being a bit dramatic,_  she thought. However, Spiritkit really had no idea how to hunt. She was just going of the brief memories of the apprentices practising their hunting.

"You really suck at this, don't you?" a voice said behind her, " You should keep your tail straight and shoulders even, also don't go so close to the ground."

That voice sounded really familiar to Spiritkit. She quickly turned around and saw a misty cat in the shadows. She, of course, freaked out at first, but then calmed down when she realised it was the tom from the misty forest.

" So you are real then," she said, " but maybe next time don't sneak up on me in the middle of the damn night and freak me out!"

 _What am I doing?_  Spiritkit thought,  _getting quite friendly with a stranger?_

" I feel offended, you thought that I wasn't real." that line was delivered quite playfully by the tom. " Welp, I kinda have to go but some last tips. Keep your tail straight, shoulders even, try to avoid being so close to the ground and watch your paws. Since I am feeling like being a horrible cat I am going to go now." the tom smiled before turning around and walking away with a skip in his step.

So there Spiritkit was left, dumbfounded. Wondering what in Starclan's name just happened, she fully knew what but her brain couldn't believe that a cat could be so... weird and funny for some strange reason.

_What a weird cat... I like him..._


	5. Chapter 4: Spirits from the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mist was all she could see. Mist and darkness. It was so foggy she could barely see her paws. Then, the mist parted like the sea to a faded black silhouette with no face that came towards her.
> 
> " Reaper." the cat said, " Reaper, Reaper, Reaper. Where are you?"  
> \-----

Chapter 4: Spirits from the past

Spiritkit returned later that night with a mouse in her jaws, feeling immensely proud since she caught it. The toms advise actually worked and she was able to catch something, even if it was just a small mouse. Spiritkit then made her way to her secret place, or den at this point. She sat down and ate the mouse, thinking about the tom. Who was he and why did he show up to her? Was this a curse disguised as a blessing or was she simply lucky for the first time?  _Why am I thinking so deeply about a cat I met twice, a cat that I know nothing about for that matter!_ Spiritkit angrily thought to herself, reprimanding her brain. Still, the thoughts wouldn't stop.  _Is there a way to tell the brain to shut up or not?_   _I guess I could run around until_  I _get tired who knows..._

So that is what Spiritkit did, she ran around until she got tired and then she fell asleep. This wasn't one of her smartest ideas, but it worked.

.xi

Mist was all she could see. Mist and darkness. It was so foggy she could barely see her paws. Then, the mist parted like the sea to a faded black silhouette with no face that came towards her.

" Reaper." the cat said, " Reaper, Reaper, Reaper. Where are you?"

Spiritkit suddenly found herself in a forest, but it felt different. She felt taller, stronger.  _She felt powerful_. Whose body was Spiritkit in? Then, she realised it was her body, all grown up. How though, was this a vision of the future?

" Welcome back Spirit." a blood red cat said, once again with no face.

" Where have you been? Our plans are almost ready to start." said a dark grey cat with no face.

She then felt herself falling, falling, falling... She then opened her eyes to be in a completely different location. Where was she?

" I missed you..." a voice said behind her.

Then, the whole world started to spin, creating a vortex before everything went dark.

.xi

Spiritkit found herself in the dark forest, where she met the tom. It was the same as last time, she just was in a different clearing. Did the tom want to meet again? He did say they would meet today.

" Hello! How are you?" said a voice behind her.

" Did you not remember my request?" Spiritkit replied in an annoyed voice. It was the tom again, judging by the voice.

" Yeah, sorry for that. Couldn't help myself." the tom kind of chuckled, then proceeded to come around her and sit down opposite of her, " Well, the same thing as last time. Let's start?"

 _Yeah, nope. I don't even know the toms name, let alone anything else!_  Spiritkit thought to herself. She then decided to ask him one simple question that was burned into her mind.

" Who the heck are you?"

At this, the tom started chuckling, as if it was funny. To him, it was. It was a question that any sane cat would have asked a long time ago. Spiritkit, however, chose to ask it now, on the third time they met.

" Well, I am a cat. " the tom replied in a deadpan voice.

" I did not realize, thank you for this wonderful observation." Spiritkit sassed back once again asking herself why she was being so  _friendly_  to a a " But really, who are you? What's your name? Which clan are you from? How did you die, oh yes about that you know I do realize that this is the dark forest."

At the last part, the tom spluttered, shocked.  _How the heck was this kit so smart?_ He quickly composed himself and started his little speech.

" Well, my name is Nightfrost, I was in Darkclan. Blazestar is my aunt by the way. You asked how I died right?" Nightfrost looked reluctant to talk about it but Spiritkit's persistent gaze made him go on. " My father was killed by a rogue, and I was very close to my father. So, I was blinded by rage and I went to find the rogue. I killed him and his mate before running away. Um, then I lost to much blood and I collapsed and just died there. I found myself here where I feel like I've done nothing wrong. I trained here but it didn't mean I was evil, I guess Starclan thinks I am. If you train here you might not be able to go to Starclan, are you willing to take the risk?

" I am, I have lost all faith in Starclan already," Spiritkit replied. Even though her voice was confident there was a slight tone of sadness in there. " By the way, how old were you when you died?"

" I was still an apprentice. 9 or 10 moons old. I was given my warrior name here."

" Another question, " Spiritkit was even more curious, so she decided to ask as many questions as possible," why does your personality seem to change so much? It goes from serious to playful and back."

" I was doing that to make you feel a bit more welcome as you say," Nightforsit let out a sight whilst speaking this sentence." my personality is actually that. Some cats say I am too friendly to be a Dark Forest warrior. Well, I can be serious and maybe cruel at times as any cat."

" I see." Spiritkit was staring at him, trying to figure him out. " Why did my eyes turn red?"

" This may seem confusing at first," Nightfrost kind of let out a small maybe fake smile, " but that was one of the leaders possessing you to see how strong you actually were. They do that to nearly every single recruit. It won't happen again as I know it wasn't particularly pleasant. Good news though, you will be pretty damn powerful. Let's start training, shall we?"

"Let's go, what are you going to teach me today? Sorry if I seem a bit weird but are you my friend, I've never had one so I don't know if you are." Spiritkit was a bit anxious, she never had a friend before, at least one that was close to her age. To be fair, he was a bit of a stranger but at least he was honest. Spiritkit wanted a friend, so she would take any chance she got to have one.

" You can consider me one if you want. However, don't be so quick to assume someone as your friend. They might kill you, be maybe friendly but closed off to. For the record, I am not going to kill you." Nightforst kind of nervously smiled when he said that important bit of advice. "Let's get started?"

.xi

That night Nightfrost taught Spiritkit so many things. Although he seemed nice he was a demon when it came to fighting. He pushed her and made her repeat the moves _so many times._ He taught her the leap-and-hold, the belly rake, tail yank and he also made her go through the things he taught her last time. Nightfrost was happy to find that she practised them and applauded Spiritkit for that. He also made her measure how much power she was putting into her swings and kicks, helping her find balance where her kicks and swings weren't strong enough to tire her out fast but were still powerful and quick. All in all, Spiritkit was exhausted but satisfied. She felt like she was learning so much!

When they finished training they quickly said their goodbyes and Spiritkit proceeded to wake up. When Spiritkit woke up, the first thing she could feel was soreness. It was painful, yes, but it gave Spiritkit the feeling like she was actually doing something that mattered to her. Then, Spiritkit started to feel hunger, she hadn't eaten in quite a while so she decided to go hunt. It was only early sunhigh when she decided to go hunting but there would be patrols out so she had to be careful. Spiritkit wouldn't want to be caught, her family would give her hell if she did.

Spiritkit once again headed to the forest area of her clan's territory. She wanted to catch a lot, she was very hungry after all. Once she got there, Spiritkit pause and scented the air. She could smell some type of bird, maybe a shrew? Spiritkit crouched and started stalking to where the smell originated from. She carefully stalked around the bush and then saw the bird, it was a shrew. Spiritkit started staking closer and closer, but unfortunately for her, the bird saw her. Spiritkit mentally cursed to herself and leapt after it when it started to fly away. She barely snagged it with her claws and quickly brought it down, ending its life with a quick bite to the neck. She then proceeded to place the bird under a bush and go a little ways away. Spiritkit scented the air again but came up with nothing. She moved on from that spot and started walking around with her nose in the air trying to find anything.

After walking for what seemed like good 5 minutes, Spiritkit picked up the scent of a mouse. It was fairly fresh, meaning that the mouse had just past the area. She carefully padded towards the mouse, trying to not step on any twigs. When Spiritkit saw the mouse she fell into the hunter's crouch, making sure that her tail tip wasn't touching the ground and that her feet were placed correctly and started to creep towards it. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike, she got ready. Creeping closer and closer, she saw the mouse's nose twitch and that is when she pounced. Spiritkit landed right on the mouse and ended its small life. She was feeling immensely proud and in a fit of kit-like joy, she started bouncing around, smirking happily.

Her celebration was interrupted by her stomach reminding her that it must be fed by gurgling loudly, practically yelling that it wants food. Spiritkit then hoisted the shrew onto her back and picked up the lighter mouse in her mouth. Stumbling a bit under the weight she started padding back to her den, grumbling about how heavy the prey was to her small body. Spiritkit quickly realised that she would have to run when she encountered the patch of moorland that separated her and her den. Spiritkit stared, annoyed at herself that she forgot that this place existed. Mentally preparing herself for the sprint, Spiritkit put her prey in a more comfortable position hoping that it wouldn't fall off.

Quickly checking to see if there were any cats in sight, there were none, Spiritkit sprinted across the moorland, or as fast as her kit legs could carry her. When she finally made it to the area the camp was in, she followed the little path to her 'den'. Ducking under the bush, she entered  _her_  territory. Setting the prey near the stream, under the shade, she lay next to her prey. Picking up the mouse she decided to eat if first since it was her preferred prey.

Taking a bite out of the mouse she started to do the thing she did when she always ate, she thought and analysed. She thought about how Nightfrost seemed almost sad. How he gave her the advice. Most of all, she thought about her future. She didn't know if she wanted to be in a clan which didn't value her. She didn't want to be in a place where she wasn't respected. Underneath all of that, she knew that she just wanted to feel approved, included. She wanted to be different sometimes. Even though she was still a kit, she knew she had made choices in her life that set her down a path. Not a good one, she knew that, but it was her destiny and who was she to fight against it?

 

**3.9.2018**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the last paragraph.   
> I'm currently making the other clans and I'm dying.


	6. Chapter 5 : Apprentices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -
> 
> "We are the clan that is responsible for handling the sacred Moonstone. An ancient rock that allows us to talk to our ancestors. The Moonstone gives leaders their nine lives, enable the medicine cats to communicate with Starclan and is part of the warrior ceremony. It's our duty to let cats get to it safely, to make sure that the Moonstone doesn't die. It's our duty to keep the peace, or that is at least what I think and hope that is what others think too. For if we fall into war, our connection to Starcaln can be severed. It will mean a tragedy to all the clans. What if the caves collapse, what would we do?"
> 
> -

 

 

 

**Wow, I am actually taking the time to make these chapters long yay!**

**And the wait is not a year long!**

**This chapter is going to give us some exposure to the other clans, cause Apprentices.**

Chapter 5 : Apprentices

For the next moon, Spiritkit was doing quite a lot regarding training. Nightfrost taught her moves but he mainly made her repeat all of the ones he taught her. He wanted them perfect, precise and fast. To Spiritkit, this was incredibly difficult because she felt like she was using muscles that she didn't even know existed. This was harder for her than most kits, this was because she didn't have others to play with during nearly all of her kit-hood, hence making her muscles underdeveloped. The first two weeks were torture. Nightforst made her jog, build up muscles on her hind and front legs and so much more. She enjoyed it, but she sometimes wanted to kick Nighfrost in the face when they sparred.

Nothing really changed in the clan. No new warriors were made. Spiritkit tended to spend most of her time going through the battle moves she learned, hunting even though she was not allowed and well she still wasn't good at it. When she wasn't doing that she was either watching and listening to cats in camp or just spending time in her 'den'. There was one change, however, Goldenkits gang stopped attacking her but one of the kits, Hazelkit started to get almost as bad as Goldenkit. Hazelkit was sabotaging her food, which didn't really affect Spiritkit but it still wasn't a thing she thought anyone would do. Hazelkit was also making mean comments and tripping her, all of the usual things. Spiritkit was confused as to why this sudden change in behaviour, Hazelkit  _was_  in Goldenkit's gang but she wasn't ever solely malicious towards her.

Today, something was happening. Spiritkit's parents were fussing around Goldenkit, smoothing and cleaning her fur. Goldenkit seemed to bask in the attention. Spiritkit was confused for a moment before she realized.

"Our Apprentice Ceremony! I almost forgot it existed," Spiritkit muttered to herself, "time flies by fast, doesn't it?"

So, Spiritkit started doing the same thing, cleaning her fur and smoothing it down. She was doing this for a long time, making herself look smart and presentable. Truthfully, Spiritkit was anxiously waiting for the clan meeting. Who will she have for a mentor? She wanted someone strong, someone who was good at fighting! Spiritkit felt a little guilty at that thought because she did already have Nightfrost mentoring her. Spiritkit just wanted a mentor that could teach her how to hunt and let her spar.

"All gather by the Great Rock for a Clan meeting!" Willowstar called out. Willowstar was a lean she-cat who had a light sandy pelt, a white stomach fur that went up to her neck, dark brown socks, as well as a darker tail tip and navy blue eyes. She was a wise Clan leader and Spiritkit liked her.

Spiritkit's family was gathered near the Great Rock, Spiritkit didn't know if she should join them.  _Probably shouldn't._ Spiritkit thought. Silvermist and Smokeleg were looking proud, Goldenkit reined in her excitement.

"Goldenkit, Spiritkit, please come forward." And so they did, following Willowstar's orders. Goldenkit went first, of course, she walked calmly with a bright grin on her face. Spiritkit was trailing behind her, still walking calmly but feeling scrutinized under the Clan's gaze. Spiritkit didn't want to feel like that, she spent so much time and effort in making herself look presentable and strong, both today and over the past month. She lifted her head up, eyes darting around and more or less glaring at those who had a negative look on their face.  _It's hard being a 'cursed' kit after all._

"Goldenkit, please step forward." Willowstar started the ceremony by announcing these words."Goldenkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Goldenpaw. Your mentor will be Gustsong. I hope Gustsong will pass down all she knows on to you."

"Gustsong," Willowstar continued, "you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Whitefang, and you have shown yourself to be brave and have amazing skill in battle. You will be the mentor of Goldenpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

_Goldenpaw got Gustsong,_ the _Gustsong? The basically unbeatable warrior? I wish I got her, although I have heard that she is a bit mean sometimes..._

"Spiritkit, please step forward." Willowstar's gaze rested on her."Spiritkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Spiritpaw. Your mentor will be Haretail. I hope Haretail will pass down all she knows on to you."

"Haretail," Willowstar gaze now rested on the young brown tom, "you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Windleap, and you have shown yourself to be wise and have loyal. You will be the mentor of Spiritpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

_Haretail?_ Spiritpaw padded towards her new mentor. He was a brown tom with a brownish red tail and a dark tail tip. He also had lighter reddish brown paws and muzzle, though his paws were also white at the tips. From what Spirikit heard he was an average warrior, he was slightly better at hunting than fighting. Spiritpaw couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. He was weak, battle wise, she thought. She guessed. Maybe he had a special skill, maybe he was good with words and he could teach her? She still had Nightfrost after all.

Spiritpaw sighted and headed towards her mentor who was sitting at the edge of camp calmly.

"Hello," she meowed, " what will we doing today?"

"Just going around the territory today, hope that you can keep up." He flicked his tail as a sign to follow and started going to the camp entrance.

Spiritpaw scampered after him, trying to keep up. She glanced at Goldenpaw and saw her conversing with Gustsong.  _I wish I had Gustsong for a_   _mentor!_  But she didn't, so she would try to stick with Haretail. He couldn't be that bad right?

Spiritpaw caught up to him near the camp entrance and started padding after him. They went into the tunnel and Spiritpaw realised how much better her den's exit was since the camps one was basically a tunnel. She didn't really like it, to be fair, she felt as if the walls would crumble of someone touched them. Spiritpaw calmed her fears, telling them that there were cats that specialize in tunnel building, spending their days in the dark and that this was just a small tunnel compared to those that those cats built.

They went out of the tunnel and Spiritpaw saw moorland, moorland everywhere and then forests and a lake. It was beautiful, she could admire it all day, this small part of her clan that she really liked. All the scenery, all the views, especially the sunset and sunrise. Spiritpaw wasn't that starstruck or at least she wasn't that in awe as other kits. She glanced at Haretail that was padding forward, she followed after him, trying to stay close.

"You have an interesting pelt." Haretail oddly commented on her appearance. Spiritpaw looked at herself. Well, she did have a bit of a weird one. She had quite light grey underfur and then darker pattern like stripes going through her. She also had jade green eyes.  _(she is basically a weird tabby)_ They continued heading more or less straight.

"Over there, on the left. Do you see the dark trees? That's Darkclan. Now, do you know what Darkclan cats are known for?" Haretail asked her, waiting for her answer as he glanced at her.

"Well, judging by the dark trees, I would say that they have dark pelts, hunt more in the night and probably have better night vision than us. I am not sure about the last part though, even if it does kind of make sense."

"Very good. Now tell me what the clan is on the right." Haretail's question brought her gaze to the right. Spiritpaw saw a scatter of trees and the beginning of a stream. From what she heard from camp and what she saw she made a conclusion.

"Well, I see the lake in front of us kind of curling towards their territory, so I would say that that is Gorgeclan."

"Once again, a correct assumption. Then, if they are the cats of water, what are their specialities? If you know what I am saying."

"They can swim and hunt in water. I also think that they rely on water whilst fighting?"

"Correct. However, remember that they are also the heaviest cats weight wise. Their pelts are also sleek and shiny due to their diet." Haretail added. Spiritpaw nodded in thought, maybe she could also make her pelt sleek? She didn't fancy the idea of eating fish though.

"You see the lake and then the island? After that, there is Hawkclan territory. Right after Hawkclan, a bit on the left there is Fireclan. Then a bit on the right, up on that mountain over there is Iceclan." Continued Haretail. He then flicked his tail for her to follow him as he was walking towards the lake. "Also, if you know tell me the specialities of those clans, please tell please." Spiritpaw thought about it for a bit. If going by the names of the clan and what she heard from camp was working before it would work again, right?

"I think that Hawkclan cats have the strongest back legs and the longest claws. Since they do live in the trees as I assume. Then Fireclan, let me think. They are the biggest cats, muscle-wise, and the most loyal. I also heard that they are the most elegant somehow." Spiritpaw paused and thought about Iceclan, nobody really knew anything about them so she tried to think of them in their terrain. "I don't know about Iceclan, but I would say that they have thicker and lighter fur, maybe also eat less food?"

"That is correct. Remember that Hawkclan cats rarely come down from their trees, they have their dens in them. Fireclan cats are the most annoying, they butt their heads into other clans business with no regard. You are also correct for Iceclan, I can't really add anything for Iceclan that's the most we know about them. We also know that they are the most hostile and are smaller than us even. Got that?"

"Yes, hopefully." Spiritpaw awkwardly chuckled a bit.

They continued heading towards the lake, Spiritpaw never been there. Suddenly Spiritpaw realised that she had been hunting very close to the Darkclan border.  _What if they saw me?_ Spirtpaw panicked, but then reassured herself saying that if they saw her they would have said something, hopefully. They continued heading towards the lake. Out of nowhere, quite a big ditch appeared out of the ground.

"That are the entrances to the tunnels, they are hidden in the bushes you see there." Haretail started and explanation, answering her unspoken question. " Breezeclan has a unique skill that separates us from the rest. Some of our cats are tunnelers. They help us by hunting in the winter, warn us from oncoming attacks and many more things that help us through the seasons. By tradition, an apprentice has to spend 6 days as a tunneler to see what it is like and maybe even become one. Keep this secret, we do not want the other clans to know."

_Ok, that's pretty cool I have to admit. I do not see myself as a tunneler though._ Haretail then continued talking.

"I forgot to mention, turn around and look a bit to the right," Spiritpaw did and she saw another ditch going into the ground a couple of tree-lengths away, " that is the Training Area. We use it to train as the name entails."

Spiritpaw was a bit shocked to see that she didn't notice the ditch before. She then moved her gaze to the right and saw the camp quite a distance away. The camp was on a small hill protected by bushed and well, she had to admit it did look quite beautiful. She realized a very unimportant thought, they were going diagonally towards the lake, not straight.  _Aren't I just smart?_

The pair then turned right at the Tunneling ditch, now going horizontally towards the lake. They walked for what seemed like quite a long time before reaching the Gorgeclan border. A stream separated them. To the right, on the side of the lake, a small distance away the stream enlarged and had some rocks in the middle.

"Memorise the scent. That is how the Gorgeclan cats smell. Don't scrunch your nose like that, we smell just as horrible to them. Those are the Sunning Stones on the right, an area we occasionally fight over, it belongs to Gorgeclan now though."

"Got that."

Then they turned around and started walking horizontally along the lake again. They walked for a long long time, passing the ditches and the camp on the left before reaching a lonely tree.

"That is just a place that marks the border, it's called the Lonely Tree. Memorise Darclan's scent. You will need it in the future."

Spiritpaw nodded, gazing around. They were right next to the water's edge, it was only a couple of fox-lengths away. Before Spiritpaw knew what she was doing she started padding towards the lake. She reached it and sunk her paws into the rocky shore, letting the small waves lap at her paws. She closed her eyes, this was one of the most relaxing things. The water was cool, refreshing. She loved it. Maybe one day she would learn how to swim? She liked that idea.

"Spiritpaw, come one. We have to finish the tour before it gets dark," Haretail called to her, acting a bit impatient.

Spiritpaw sighed, her moments of solitude were over. They started padding away from the lake, still next to the Darkclan border. They were reaching the wood area of Breezeclan's territory, the area which Spiritpaw caught her prey before. They padded towards the middle of it, still being next to the Darkclan border.

"Look to the left, past some trees. You see one that is taller than the rest?" Spiritpaw nodded. " Good. That is the Great Birch. There is lots of prey underneath it so we sometimes hunt there if needed."

The started padding towards camp, passing the Great Birch in the process.

"There is one last thing," Haretail said veering a bit off course, going to the right, "we are right next to the sea."

They padded towards the 'sea' for about a fox-length. Suddenly, a beautiful view appeared. It was the sea, the waves lapping steadily at the shore. The dull sound of them, not very loud but still noisy. How beautiful it was! Spiritpaw was surprised that she didn't know this place existed, but what's life without surprises?

"By the Gorgeclan border, which is on the left, we have a set of caves." Haretail got this soft look in his eyes. "We are the clan that is responsible for handling the sacred Moonstone. An ancient rock that allows us to talk to our ancestors. The Moonstone gives leaders their nine lives, enable the medicine cats to communicate with Starclan and is part of the warrior ceremony. It's our duty to let cats get to it safely, to make sure that the Moonstone doesn't die. It's our duty to keep the peace, or that is at least what I think and hope that is what others think too. For if we fall into war, our connection to Starcaln can be severed. It will mean a tragedy to all the clans. What if the caves collapse, what would we do?"

At that moment Spiritpaw realised, this cat, Haretail, really loved their Clan. For reasons, she didn't fully understand, but his sense of right and wrong were strong. She was starting to respect this tom. Sure, she was judging to him at first. He wasn't the best warrior, not at all, but he was wise beyond his years. He didn't think war and battles were the answer, unlike many young warriors his age. Spiritpaw may not believe in Starclan but she did understand the tradition. Maybe if she had a different life she could be just as faithful. They started heading back to camp.

"Also, I forgot to mention. The rock you see at the highest part of the camp is called the Outlook Rock. We watch over the borders with it, see if an attack is incoming hence the name."

They padded through the camp entrance just as the sun was beginning to set. Spiritpaw saw the pile of fresh-kill and realised just how hungry she was.

"You can go eat. After that go to sleep, remember Apprentices den now. Meet me tomorrow right before sunhigh. Good night." Haretail said, flicking his tail and padding away.

"Good night," Spiritpaw whispered. She was liking being an apprentice, maybe things were looking up for her? That didn't mean she didn't hate the clan with her being, but this was oddly nice. She liked being remotely useful, for some strange reason. Spiritpaw felt like she had to get these emotions out of her. She headed towards the fresh-kill pile and picked out a rabbit. Bringing it to the edge of camp she began to eat.

-

**WELL, THAT WAS THE LONGEST CHAPTER YET. Damn, so much territory description, felt like I was gonna die! Oh, I also have to finish all of the cat's names from ALL the clans. I only have Breezeclan done and a bit of Gorgeclan!**

**Please give me name suggestions! I really need them! Thank you if you do!**

**More than 3000 words!**

**16.9.2018**


	7. Chapter 6: The Gathering and The Unexpected Friendship (pt1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -
> 
> "I can recognise a Dark Forest Trainee anywhere." Hailpath's mouth curled into a smirk.
> 
> -

**I'm back!**

**How are yall doing today?**

**Anyways, I think I need to actually have a writing schedule but eh. THANKS FOR NEARLY 400 READS!**

**Leaf: thank you so much for reviewing and for the names, I added them to my alliances!**

**WarriorsErin: You have supported me through the whole thing and I thank you so much for that!**

**Ok, now onto the chapter that took a long time. Ya know Ryekit? I love her for some reason so she is getting a bigger role lol**

**Lets goooo**

_Chapter 6: The Gathering and The Unexpected Friendship_

"No, no, no!" Yelled Haretail for the umpteenth time. "You don't tuck your tail in when performing the Forepaw Slash! Only Fireclan cats do that! I have gone over this a hundred times! We Breezeclan cats have honour. So. Don't. Tuck. Your. Tail. In!"

The last line was nearly growled, emphasising the rare occurrence of Haretail being angry. In fact, this was the angriest Spiritpaw seen Haretail be.

"You simply aren't getting the move right," meowed Haretail, already leaving the Training Hollow, "so we are heading back to camp. Let's go."

Spiritpaw rolled her eyes, he was being really annoying today. She sighed and run to catch up to Haretail's already retreating figure.

...

When they got back to camp Haretail announced that Spiritpaw was going to the gathering. Spiritpaw, of course, was excited and she eagerly followed his instructions to rest and eat. She headed to the fresh-kill pile, snatching a small rabbit. She brought it to the edge of camp and sat down to eat. It was surprisingly small, at that moment Spiritpaw realised that leaf-fall was upon them. She never really thought about seasons for that matter.  _Hopefully, leaf-bare won't be hard for us._ She thought.

Spiritpaw finished the rabbit and headed to the apprentice's den. Although it wasn't the place where she wanted to sleep, it was easier for Haretail to wake her up, so she endured it. Her sister and Hazelpaw still teased her. In the moon that she was an apprentice Ryekit, Hazelkit and Rabbitkit became apprentices. Ryepaw was assigned to Swiftfeather, a kind yet skilled she-cat. Hazelpaw was assigned to Whitefang, an older tom who was experienced, he was the one that mentored Gustsong before, so he was held in high regard. Rabbitpaw was apprenticed to Shorttail, a young tom who was an excellent warrior. Spiritpaw didn't want to think of them, they were nothing to her. So, climbed into the nest and tried to drift off to sleep. Maybe she would see Nighfrost.

...

Spiritpaw found herself to be in the misty forest she grew to be accustomed too. She sat down and waited for her friend to join her. Spiritpaw and Nighfrost grew closer during the last moon. They were proper friends now, this was easier since Nighfrost was around her still trained her just as hard, they bantered more and were more friendly towards each other. Nightfrost taught her many moves that past moon. He taught her the Leap and Hold, Scruff Shake, Teeth Grip, Half Turn Belly Rake and the Duck and Twist. She also started learning the more advanced move, the Badger Defense. Spiritpaw loved their training sessions, they were always fun and she felt like they gave her a purpose. Spiritpaw was getting a bit impatient. Where was Nightfrost?

"Sorry I'm late!" A jet black tom greeted her, emerging from the bushes. "Actually nevermind, you are early."

"The gathering is today so my mentor just told me to rest," Spiritpaw nodded her head in greeting, "what are we doing today?"

"I planned on introducing you to the other cats, suppose it's time." Spiritpaw nodded her head at his words, feeling excited for the prospect of meeting other skilled warriors, even though they were evil. "Remember, most of them aren't as nice as me so you have to watch your posture and words. You know all of that, so that's fine"

"Let's go." Spiritpaw meowed, feeling a wide grin spread across her face, it wasn't a nice one. This grin was dark. Nighfrost looked back at her and smiled, his grin just the same.

They padded through bushes, following unseen paths for what seemed like hours or minutes. They shared a comfortable silence between them, both thinking of the outcome of this meeting. They reached a large hollow. On the sides were dark trees and then there was a small cliff. Two cats sat on it, observing those milling below. There weren't many cats, per say, about 20. Nightforst and Spiritpaw padded towards them, straight for the cliff. The cats parted to let them pass, Spiritpaw felt their gazes on her but she paid no mind to them. Nighfrost and her stopped by the foot of the cliff.

"Halfstar," Nightfrost looked at the taller of the two, a well-built tom with two pelt colours. One side of him was dark grey whilst the other was light. Nightfrost's gaze then flickered to the other cat. A slim, silvery grey she-cat with a collection of scars. The she-cats gaze was cold, "Iceheart. I present to you my apprentice, Spiritpaw."

Spiritpaw looked up at the two cats, who seemingly were the leaders of this place with no emotion on her face. Her gaze was expressionless, she didn't want to give anything away. Halfstar's eyes narrowed at her, Iceheart's eyes scanned over her figure.

"You got a good apprentice there, Nightfrost..." Icehearts meowed, her eyes still on Spiritpaw. The tom beside her nodded.

Nightfrost let out an inaudible sigh. He then dipped his head and turned to the cats.

"This is my apprentice Spiritpaw, she started training with me when she was a kit. She trained with me for 3 moons now. Treat her with respect, she is good." Nightfrost gave a bit of information on her to the cats gathered around them.

The cats called in greeting, welcoming her. Spiritpaw smiled. This was her new clan now.

...

Spiritpaw felt herself being prodded with a paw.

"What?" She muttered sleepily, wanting the paw to go away. "Leave me be."

Spiritpaw's eyes blinked open, staring at the offending paw and then at the cat who was prodding her.

Ryepaw's surprised eyes greeted her. Ryepaw then nodded her head and scampered off, looking back at Spiritpaw as she did that. Spiritpaw rolled her eyes, what did they want now?  _Oh right, the gathering!_ She thought. Spiritpaws sour mood instantly evaporated, making her feel excited again.

"Gather round! We are leaving for the gathering soon!" Willowstar shouted to the warriors still inside their dens

_Wasn't she supposed to announce who is going? I guess she did it before..._

"Uh, hi, sorry for waking you up," Spiritpaw turned her head to look at the speaker, it was Ryepaw, "Haretail asked me to wake you up. I didn't really know how, so, sorry for waking you up like that.  _I'm gonna go now."_

The last line was delivered very fast, making it nearly impossible to understand. As soon as Ryepaw said that she scrambled off towards her mentor, Swiftfeather. Spiritpaw glanced at Swiftfeather, she was a dark brown she-cat from the bottom and had a thick light orangish brown stripe on the top. Swiftfeather also had white socks, she had a more brownish face and a black tail tip. Strangely enough, she also had a light brownish orange tabby stripes, they were nearly invisible though. She was a pretty she-cat, as everyone said.

Spiritpaw spotted Haretail somewhere in the back and started heading towards him. She got to him and asked when they were leaving, he responded by saying that he didn't really know and that she had to wait. Spiritpaw huffed, stalking to the edge of the camp. She settled down and observed the cats, they were milling around and getting ready for the gathering. Spiritpaws body became heavy, she lay down, feeling her eyes close. She couldn't resist.  _I hope I don't miss it..._

...

Spiritpaw woke up to a paw prodding her, again. She opened her eyes and looked at the cat. It was Ryepaw, again.

"We are leaving...Now..." Ryepaw softly said, earning a nod in thanks from Spiritpaw.

The two cats padded side by side towards their mentors. The orange one going to the reddish-brown she-cat, whilst the tabby going to the brown furred tom.

Haretail looked at her and turned away, flicking his tail, asking her to catch up. She did, bounding with powerful strides to catch up. They padded in silence, passing the scent markers onto Darkclan territory to get onto the tree bridge. Spiritpaw looked around the dark trees, the pine needles, the mysterious aura of the territory captivated her. She wanted to go here again. Then, they reached the tree bridge and Breezeclan started to cross. Soon, it was Spiritpaw's turn, she breathed in and released a sigh. Haretail, who was directly behind her, rolled his eyes at her hesitance.

"Careful, don't slip. I don't want to fish you out," Haretail's monotonous voice resonated behind her, "anyways, it would look bad in front of the other clans."

Spiritpaw gathered her haunches and leapt onto the tree bridge. The wood was slippery and wet and she had to dig her claws in for balance. She started padding towards the other side, slowly but surely. Spiritpaw looked down at the murky water beneath her. It was swirling with the reflections of millions of stars, pulling her in, she felt as if she reached her paw out she would feel the sky. The water was like a reflection, her own dim outline surrounded by stars and the moon, there were so many lights, all brighter than the other,  _all brighter than her_. Spiritpaw shook her head sadly, now wasn't the time.

Spiritpaw leapt off the tree bridge, leaving the thoughts behind her. She looked back at Haretail who landed beside her. They padded side by side towards through the bushes, ducking under and closing their eyes. When Spiritpaw opened her eyes all she could see were cats, there were so many of them! She didn't know that a place like that existed. Well, she did know, but she never imagined that there would be so many cats.

"Are you going to be okay on your own? Because if not I  _could_  introduce you to some cats, but I'm not sure you would find that interesting." Haretail mewed beside her, his eyes locked onto a group of cats on the other side of the clearing.

"I think I am going to be fine." Spiritpaw breathed out, still in awe of the whole place.

"Then just wander around. Don't expose any of our secrets or you will be facing punishments." Haretail threw the words over his shoulder, already padding away.

Spiritpaw wordlessly nodded, still looking around the clearing. It was shaped in a rough oval, around the clearing there were bushes and centuries-old trees. On one of the sides of the clearing, to the right of Spiritpaw, there was a formation of stones with six of them being the largest. Almost like they represented the six clans. Spiritpaw observed the clearing for any cats she would like to talk to. She didn't see anyone that caught her attention so she decided that she would settle on the edge of the clearing; looking out for cats near her. She saw a dark grey tom with a darker grey upper part and dead nearly-white eyes head over to her spot. He settles down next to her and nodded his head in greeting, Spiritpaw did the same back.

"Hello, who are you?" Spiritpaw asked with calculated indifference; gazing at the cats talking to Willowstar.

"I am Hailpath of Gorgeclan, who might you be?" His gaze flickered over no her with no emotion what so ever on it.

"Spiritpaw of Breezeclan."

"Spiritpaw? I thought you weren't allowed to name your kits something like that. Weird." Hailpath's eyes held curiosity inside them, though, it was masked by his dead looking eyes.

"Would you mind telling me who the leaders are? This is my first gathering." Spiritpaw was eager to change the topic; if she could, she would not like to talk about her name.

"Sure. You see the large bright orange she-cat with a lighter underbelly and a dark orange striped tail?" Spiritpaw indeed saw the cat, she towered above most of the cats in the gathering, though she somehow also looked lean. "That's Goldstar, the leader of Fireclan. Many say that she is one of the most skilled fighters in all of the clans. You notice that her tail is unnaturally long, right? She uses that to her advantage, it is almost like another paw, it is rather fascinating. She also somehow trained herself to balance for a short time on it, I don't even know how that is possible, anatomically speaking. Like any Fireclan cat, she is proud. Though she is better than most other Fireclan cats, she doesn't put her head in other clans business. Also, her clan and Darkclan are natural rivals."

"That. Is a lot of information. How do you know all that?" Spiritpaw was rather amazed by the level of detail, she didn't know how Hailpath knew that considering that his and Goldstar's clan were on opposite sides of the lake.

"It's called observation and listening. Next leader is Blazestar, the lean she-cat with a dark grey undercoat and a jet-black upper body. If you look closely you can see that she has dotted black stripes. The reason she is named 'Blazestar' is that she has a white mark on her forehead, pretty self-explanatory. Anyways, some information on her." Spiritpaw eagerly prepared to listen to the valuable words of this strange tom. "Basically she is very secretive, no clan really knows that much about her, apart from her own. You are taught that Darkclan cats fight on the ground, that is actually incorrect. Blazestar is teaching her clan to fight in the trees, says that it will give her clan an advantage. No one knows that, so please don't tell. She is regarded as a snake, not because of her personality but because of her skill, she is silent and deadly. Her manipulation skills are also top-notch, she can make a cat do anything; that is rather interesting, I would like to know where she learnt that. You know that her nephew died five moons ago? His name was Nightpaw, Blazestar said that he went missing but she covered up the fact that he died from blood loss. He tried to kill the rogue that killed his father, he succeeded but he passed away later in the same day. Blazestar is a cat of many secrets."

"That information is not something cats would be talking about in a gathering. Although I do admit that it is valuable." Spiritpaw was even more amazed by this peculiar tom that seemed to know too much for his own good.

"I do have my sources. I admit that I know a lot of confidential information. I'll continue with the leaders. You see the small tom with a weird pelt? The one that looks like a normal dark grey striped cat that whose pelt has been turned white from the paws up to the middle of the body? The white goes up the neck and to the middle of the face. His tail looks like any classic tabby cat but is white in the base. Do you see the white splotches on the upper part of the body? That probably made no sense, I can't really describe him properly since his pelt is one of a kind. Do you see him?" Spiritpaw shook her head, maybe she was too short? "Well I don't see him either, you'll see who he is when he makes his announcement. That tom is the leader of Iceclan, his name is Blizzardstar. Not much is known about his clan or him; nobody knows where they even live, at least they know its on a mountain. Well, their camp is really well hidden, its a connection of caves a couple of tree lengths up the mountain, quite near Fireclan's territory. Right next to a lonely tree. As I said before, you won't find the camp unless you really look for it. Anyways, I don't have much information on Blizzardstar. I know that he is very fast and rather brutal, his parents died when he was a kid apparently. He has a mate named Owlfoot, she is small, an all-white she-cat with a black tail and paws and a grey face. They don't have any kits. That is just about everything I know, I don't have anyone I know in that clan."

"What's a tabby cat? I have never heard that term before." That was true, this was a completely new word for Spiritpaw.

"It's just a cat that has stripes, more or less. Like, a classic tabby has swirly stripes, whilst a spotted tabby has dotted stripes. Another variation is a ticked tabby, they have ticked legs and tails, not always though, with the rest of the body appearing mottled. The last variation is called a striped tabby, it is when a cat has vertical stripes running from its spine to its belly."

"I am even going to ask where you got that information. So, I am a classic tabby then? Anyways, who is the light grey tom with a white underbelly with the white going up neck and face that has darker grey... Classic tabby stripes. His tail looks a bit like a racoon's tail. any Did I get that right?" The tom Spiritpaw was looking at was of normal height and didn't look all that interesting.

"Yes, you are a classic tabby with jet-black stripes and really light fur." Spiritpaw's jade green eyes narrowed in satisfaction, knowing that she got the new term right. "The tom is the leader of Hawkclan, his name is Snowstar. He is nothing special, the only reason he is a leader is that the previous leader's deputy died so he had to replace him quickly, so the leader chose Snowstar. The past leader was old and delusional and saw Snowstar as some amazing warrior, which he isn't. Snowstar was previously known as Snowfoot, even though his feet were never white. Eh, I don't have much info on him because I don't find him interesting enough. He has no mate, his clan is rather weak even though they have so much potential and he fooled around before he was a leader. He had two she-cats that he had an affair with, both from your clan actually, I don't know how he managed it since his clan and yours are on opposites sides of the lake. The first she-cat was named Dotpelt and the other one, come closer, " Spiritpaw eagerly did that, ready to receive some dirt on Snowstar; she then looked at Hailpaths eyes, they, surprisingly, held emotion in them, amusement. " the other cat was Willowstar."

"What!?" Spiritpaw glanced at the light yellow she-cat that was her leader, flabbergasted.

"Yes, they apparently still do it occasionally."

"This, this is gold! I have blackmail material!" Spiritpaw once again glanced at Willowstar, she saw how her leader's brown paws picked at the grass, how her leader's dark eyes roamed everywhere, how her leader's dark ear tips flicked surveying every sound. Spiritpaw then glanced at Willowstar's brown face, it was impassive, surprisingly, even though her body portrayed nervousness. Willowstar's brown tail wasn't flicking, the dark tail tip lay still on the grass. Spiritpaw underestimated her leader's ability to keep her emotions in check, mostly. Even Willowstar's white underbelly fur wasn't sticking up and that was hard to control! The only thing that betrayed her demeanour was her paws, only that, the eyes didn't really matter.

"Well, now you do, your welcome. Don't go spouting this information everywhere or you will face consequences from all the clans and their leaders." Hailpath's dead voice came back in this slightly threatening remark.

"Yes, yes. I have one final question. Why did you tell me all of this?" Spiritpaw's eyes bore into Hailpath's.

"I can recognise a Dark Forest Trainee anywhere." Hailpath's mouth curled into a smirk.

**TAN TAN TAN**

**Yeah, I just wanted to describe Willowstar. I hate Snowstar so much, idk why. I want some action to happen soon, maybe it will idk ( i know I'm the bloody author of this.)**

**I like Hailpath, he is an interesting character. I'll make the gathering p2 sometime next week, hopefully, if I get my stuff straight.**

**(24.10.2018)**


	8. Chapter 7 : The Gathering and the Unexpected Friendship (pt2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -
> 
> "I just wanted to apologize for everything that I ever did to you."
> 
> -

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is shorter than usual!
> 
> Anyways, I'm writing the next chapter right now and it's nearly finished, GET READY FOR SOME BATTLE SCENES!!!
> 
> (20.1.2018)

**I am back! And I am trying to write more yayaya**

**yeah. The second part of the gathering doneeeee.**

_Chapter 7 : The Gathering and the Unexpected Friendship_

"Wait, what?" Spiritpaw's shocked gaze was locked on Hailpath. "How did you know?"

Hailpath only smirked and started padding away. "Hey! Get back here!" Spiritpaw nearly yelled.

Spiritpaw continued to follow him, she was determined to not lose sight of him. Hailpath threw a smirk over his shoulder as he padded right into the middle of a throng of cats. Spiritpaw followed, shouldering cats apart which received her no kindness, only growls of displeasure. She glanced up to the spot where she last saw Hailpath only to find that he wasn't there. She wildly looked around, growling under her breath on how much she hated when cats did that, even though it never happened to her before. Spiritpaw sighed in defeat and looked around for a spot on the edge of the clearing.

A black she-cat, Blazestar, jumped onto one of the rocks, yowling to gather attention. "The gathering is about to start!"

Spiritpaw glanced up, happy that she was given a distraction. She settled into a more comfortable position and looked up to the six big rocks that all the leaders occupied.

"Who would like to start the gathering?" Blazestar's mew pierced the now silent clearing.

"I will." A confident voice replied, it belonged to Snowstar. He sat on his rock gazing at the cats beneath him with a confident smirk. "My clan is growing exponentially. With us tonight we have four new apprentices. Welcome, Birdpaw, Antpaw, Fernpaw and Duskpaw!"

Spiritpaw looked around as congratulatory mews filled the air, trying to spot the new apprentices, she couldn't, there were just too many cats.

"Our prey is running well. My clan is as strong as ever."  _And that's not really strong,_ Spiritpaw thought. Snowstar nodded to the other leaders whilst still smirking and sat down on his rock.

"Everything is good in our clan, our borders remain secure and our warrior strong." A new cat stood up, a black she-cat. Blazestar's indifferent voice filled the air around her. Even as indignant mews sprang up everywhere.  _I_ _like her._  Spiritpaw thought.

Another voice filled the clearing, one that Spiritpaw didn't recognize. So she guessed it was the leader of Gorgeclan. The leader explained that everything was going well and prey was plentiful. The others all said the same thing, the grey unknown to her, leader also commented on how there was a dog loose on the outskirts of their territory.

Spiritpaw briefly recalled a time when Haretail taught her what was outside the clans. She remembered that on the left of Gorgeclan, over a hill was a medium sized twoleg place. The twoleg dens were made out of wood and stone and the monsters drove around restlessly. On the right side of Darkclan, there was also a twoleg place. Though it was smaller than the other one. Apparently, both of the twoleg places brought twolegs up the mountain or something, she wasn't sure. Luckily the twoleg's never came into their secluded valley.

"Finally, we have five new apprentices with us today! Welcome, Goldenpaw, Spiritpaw, Ryepaw, Hazelpaw and Rabbitpaw!" Spiritpaw puffed her chest out at the mention of her name. She even saw Ryepaw wheat orange form do the same, just a bit more subdued. Spiritpaw couldn't see her sister or Hazelpaw and Rabbitpaw. The other clan's cheered for them, just like they did for the other apprentices. Spiritpaw smiled softly.

"Gathering dismissed." The grey leader, who Spiritpaw still didn't know the name of, called out and jumped off his rock gracefully.

Spiritpaw made her way to her clanmates, her eyes still searching for Hailpath subconsciously. Spiritpaw stayed near the edges of the throng of her clanmates, padding after them solemnly after her leaders call of: "Breezeclan, here!".

Her clan was the first to cross the tree bridge, with Spiritpaw being nearly the last to go. She crossed the tree bridge, only wobbling slightly. She padded after her clanmates, her paws barely making a sound. She was lost in thought for most of the way, her paws guiding her forwards. She was broken out of her trance by a voice calling her name. Spiritpaw looked up, it was Ryepaw; Ryepaw looked nervous.

"Can I talk to you, please?" Ryepaw's hesitant voice broke their awkward silence. Spiritpaw nodded.

Ryepaw led them away from their clanmates, she sat down when their clanmates were out of sight. Spiritpaw also settled down herself, steeling her heart for the harsh words she was sure she would receive. Spiritpaw just thought the worst would happen, even when all the signs pointed to the good outcome.

"I just wanted to apologize for everything that I ever did to you." Ryepaw began before a long pause; at these words, Spiritpaws eyes widened in surprise, she wasn't expecting that. "I know I was horrible to you for the most of your life. I know I was one of the cats that caused your unhappiness, just because I didn't want to be ridiculed and made fun of. I know that you might never forgive me. I will forever be sorry for following Goldenpaw and just acting how she wanted us to act. I know there is no excuse for my actions because they were my choices, the choices that I went through. I just wish I was smart enough at the time to realise that what I was doing was wrong, that I was wrong to treat you the way I did."

"Even though I was young then, I remember you being a happy kit. I remember you wanting to amount to greatness. I remember you being so  _excited_ by everything. But then, slowly but slowly you became secluded and your eyes, they just started to have this emotionless look. And then I realised that I was partly to blame because of that. And I felt so so  _bad_ -" Ryepaw's voice broke off then, her chest heaving, repressed sobs wracking her small figure. " I felt so so bad for m-making you hurt, for making you bleed! I wasn't thinking at those many times when my siblings and I hurt you, I was just simply following along and I am so sorry for that. I wish I would've spoken out and did something because  _I_ had the power to convince my siblings to stop, but I didn't! I didn't even try, I just went through with what she wanted! I am such a horrible c-cat, I never wanted to cause anyone pain but I did. I am truly a t-terrible being! Oh, Starclan."

Ryepaw sniffed, trying to conceal her sobs from Spiritpaw. Spiritpaw felt a strange wetness in her eyes, her body held a feeling that she never experienced; it was like she ran a thousand tree-lengths.

"What I am trying to say is that, can you give me another chance? A chance to amend my mistakes?" Ryepaw's shaky plea rang out in the night, her head hung low, but her watery eves staring at Spiritpaw.

"I-I do not forgive you fully, yet. It seems like you are genuinely sorry for your mistakes, if that is a case then, I give you a second chance. Please, don't mess it up-" Spiritpaw was tackled by a sobbing mass of orange fur, falling flat on her back. Ryepaw, who was on top of her, was chanting whispered thank you's, her form deprived of all energy. Spiritpaw's shoulder was becoming wet, but she didn't care. She was so surprised by the outcome of this interaction that she just simply let the grip of her emotions go. Spiritpaw felt herself tear up, her eyes prickling with tears. She let them come out this, sobbing quietly into Ryepaw's fur. After staying like that for a couple of minutes, Spiritpaw's tears subsided. Ryepaw felt her becoming uncomfortable so she delicately sprang of off Spiritpaw and offered her a soft smile.

"I am so happy that you even took my words into consideration, truly." Ryepaw's kind eyes locked onto Spiritpaw's and Spiritpaw smiled, something that was so unnatural to do in the waking world. Ryepaw's smile became even brighter.

ix.

When they arrived back to the camp, they were greeted with silence. The only cat that wasn't awake was Dotpelt, an average sized calico she-cat whos only interesting feature was a bright left green eye. Dotpelt only nodded at them, not batting an eye. They made their way towards their den in unison, not looking at each other but still remaining in comfortable silence. When they got their den, Spiritpaw made her way to her nest in the back corner, glancing at Ryepaw she was surprised to find her tugging her nest towards Spiritpaw. Spiritpaw looked at the smaller she-cat in mild confusion.

"'S gettin' cold." Was the reply Spiritpaw received, albeit slightly muffled.

She sighed and settled down in her nest, pulling her tail over her body; she felt Ryepaw settle down next to her.  _Please let this be real, please don't make this a sick joke that they are pulling on me, please._ Spiritpaw's thoughts circled around that pattern, still mulling over the encounter that happened prior. Then, after minutes or maybe even hours, Spiritpaw fell asleep with a warm body pressed next to hers.

-

**Okie Dokie**

**This is a bit shorter than I usually write but I didn't want to fill it up with useless junk. Also, I wanted it to end on a better not and not stretch it out and write about things not concerning my outline.**

**ALSO!**

**HUGE THANKYOU FOR WARRIORS ERIN FOR SUPPORTING ME FOR SUCH A LONG TIME! 3 3 3**

**Don't worry, next chapter will be longer!**

**(25.11.2018)**


	9. Chapter 8: Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> -
> 
> "Yup. I'm sure you'll have fun."
> 
> "Great."
> 
> "Cut the sarcasm."
> 
> "Hypocrite," Spiritpaw mumbled, "'cut the sarcasm' my tail."
> 
> "What." Haretail fully heard what she said.
> 
> "Oops, look at that rabbit!" She dashed to the camp wall, laughing.
> 
> -
> 
> (23.1.2019)

**STUFF IS FINALLY HAPPENING IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**Aka = I finally writing a fighting scene!**

**YEEEE**

_Chapter 8: Training_

2 moons had passed since Spiritpaw's talk with Ryepaw. Spiritpaw now being 9 moons old felt more comfortable about herself. Her parents didn't bother her, just ignored and glared at her; Goldenpaw only shot her withering glances and sometimes called her names. Ryepaw and her were now as close as sisters, bonding over the fact that their clan was messed up. Spiritpaw found herself happy to be in her presence, it was never boring or a nuisance to talk to Ryepaw; they just worked so well together. Spiritpaw's hunting even had improved since Ryepaw entered her life. Her best friend couldn't stand to see her not being able to catch a single rabbit and promptly declared that she was going to teach her how to do it properly. All in all, Spiritpaw was happy, her life seemed much better now. Her clanmates even respected her!

ix.

It was sunhigh that Spiritpaw found herself being prodded by a paw, quite roughly. Spiritpaw opened her eyes to see a golden figure standing above her.

"Hurry up, freak, we have battle practice." Goldenpaw glowered at her, curling her lips.

Spiritpaw grumbled and stood up, padding outside and making sure to knock Goldenpaw on the shoulder. She was pleased to find that she was taller than her sister by about a head.

Spiritpaw surveyed the clearing, not finding Haretail anywhere and concluding that she had enough time to eat; she sat down and nicked a small hare of the stale fresh-kill pile. The hare was lean and not very juicy.  _Well, It is leaf-fall right now, so its no surprise._  She thought, slightly glowering at the prey.

"Ready?" Haretail joined her, sitting down on her right side and watching her with emotionless eyes.

"Yup, nea'ly ther'," Spiritpaw mumbled, mouth still full of prey. She gulped it down, swallowing hard and said, "Goldenpaw told me we have battle practice, is that true?"

"Yes it is and I expect you to win every battle." Haretail's monotonous voice had no discernable expression but it was oddly hopeful if you could call it that.

"Of course, of course! I can beat everyone there, its not like some of them are bigger than me. Wait, are we fighting mentors  _too?_ " At this Haretail gave her a blank stare, her sarcasm not appreciated. "Sorry, sorry. But are we actually fighting the mentors?"

"Yup. I'm sure you'll have fun."

"Great."

"Cut the sarcasm."

" _Hypocrite,"_ Spiritpaw mumbled, " _'cut the sarcasm' my tail."_

"What." Haretail fully heard what she said.

"Oops, look at that rabbit!" She dashed to the camp wall, laughing.

Haretail looked at her, face impassive but eyes holding amusement. It was at this moment that Spiritpaw appreciated how far they had come as mentor and apprentice; some would say they were even friends.

Haretail soon joined her at the and they were ready to head out. Spiritpaw glanced around camp and saw a figure pad out of the elder's den. It was Burnfoot, a light brown long-furred tom with darker ears and spots and a very long tail that was dark at the base before becoming more reddish. His feet were a reddish colour, hence the name 'Burnfoot'; his eyes were an oddly brilliant green that contrasted with his array of scars. He was weird, to say the least; he just looked wrong somehow, not that Spiritpaw could say anything.

"On a different note, why does Burnfoor look so  _different_." Spiritpaw leaned over and more or less whispered in Haretail's ear and he followed her gaze.

" _'Hypocrite'_ as you so graciously commented." at this Haretail received an annoyed gaze that almost looked like his own. He smiled to himself, she was becoming more like him every day. "But, he had a Gorgeclan father, surprised that you didn't know that, to be honest. His father was named Finchheart and Burnfoot looks exactly like him but Finchheart had red eyes and a lighter muzzle if I remember correctly. I was really young when the truth came out and I don't really remember Finchheart. Burnfoot is quite a recent elder though, he became one like 10 moons ago; a moon before you were born. Interesting cat."

"Well, I certainly didn't know that."

ix.

Spiritpaw padded into the training area behind Haretail. She looked around, seeing that everyone was already there; she saw Ryepaw and smiled at her and Ryepaw smiled back, looking quite nervous. They padded towards the centre joining everyone else. Then, Swiftfeather, a dark brown tabby that had an orange back and tail spoke up; her white paws kneading the ground and her large green eyes looking at every apprentice's face.

"Today we will have more or less an assessment, think of it as a preparation for your warrior assessment.  _I said assessment to many times."_ Ryepaw's mentor's black tail tip flicked in annoyance at herself. "Anyways, you will either be fighting a mentor or an apprentice during this brief examination period. Don't worry, you will fight more than once if we are able to do this quickly and efficiently you all will fight 4 or 5 times."

_That's a lot actually. Fun._

"OK then, thanks Swiftfeather, so let's start with a warm-up. How about 10 minutes to warm up?" Rabbitpaw's mentor, Shorttail continued.

Spiritpaw looked at him for a few moments, he didn't look like he was from Breezeclan at all. He was dark grey in colour with darker tabby stripes and an even darker neck. His neck fur was very long, it gave the impression of a mane; strangely still, the stripes continued down the neck, darker than those on the body originally. His paws, muzzle and ear tips were a lighter grey than the rest of him. The most interesting part was that he was missing a tail and that his right eye was completely yellow, with no iris.  _Why am I wasting my time looking at this tom? He is no one special, at least in my opinion..._

Then, after Shorttail's instructions, each cat split up to do their own thing. The other apprentices looked quite lost, they had never really warmed up by themselves. Luckily, Nightfrost made Spiritpaw warm up on her own and if when she didn't do it properly she had to pay for it with strained and cramped muscles. Spiritpaw sighed, stretching out her paws and hearing quite  _pop's,_ she did work hard the other night. She winced a bit when she stretched, her hind leg muscles were hurting quite a bit. The other night, Nightfrost made her fight only on her hind legs and if she, at any time, wasn't fighting on two paws, he would make her run a lap; Spiritpaw was more or less used to this, but her hind legs weren't, so now they decided to voice their complaints. Spiritpaw huffed, her condition wasn't ideal but she would make do. She stiffened when she realized that Nightfrost  _could_  be watching her battle practice and well if she didn't do good she was done for.

Spiritpaw decided to jog as a warm up; she elongated her strides and shortened them, she changed her footing multiple times to better suit her needs, she sprinted short distances and then later regretted it since it wasn't very fun. But alas, she wanted to warm up properly so she continued her gruelling regime that Nighfrost made her do practically every time she trained with him.

"All right! Is everyone done?" Whitefang, a senior warrior called. Spiritpaw looked him over, he was a mainly white cat with yellow eyes. Though, his muzzle, ears and 3 of paws were tinted light-grey; weirdly, his other paw, the front left one, was white with light-grey bands around it. His chest, underbelly and back all had a slightly darker stripe running down them. Spiritpaw decided she liked his pelt, it was simple but unique.

All nodded at his question and gathered around the warrior.

"Right then, we have discussed this before the start of this. First of all, we will be doing an exercise that will stimulate a battle scenario. Watch us closely. We will split into two groups, though there is an odd number, battles aren't fair like that. So, Swiftfeather, Shorttail and I will be against Gustsong and Haretail." Whitefang then drew a line in the sand. "This is the border. Both teams are trying to push their opponents further into their territory. Remember, claws sheathed!"

Spiritpaw glanced at Haretail, wouldn't they be annihilated. He wasn't that good at fighting, was he? She didn't really fight him properly since about a moon ago. He told her that she was good enough and then they focused their efforts on Spiritpaw's hunting, which was still bad... She couldn't just rush at her prey, it wasn't very logical! She much prefered to stalk it. Also, Spiritpaw realized that Haretail was the shortest out of the whole group; Spiritpaw scolded herself because well, how did she not notice?

But, to be honest, on another note, Spiritpaw assumed that he wasn't good at fighting... She never actually saw him fight properly...

"Ok then? Are we all ready to start?" Gustsong called out, her green eyes flicking around; she flicked her tail at Haretail, asking him to come over.

He did, albeit he did roll his eyes at her but she only chuckled and called him over again. Both groups whispered to each other furiously, shooting narrowed looks at their opponents. Both teams stood up, standing a good couple of paces away from each other.

"Everyone ready? Also, I want to add, if your opponent holds you down for more than 10 seconds, you are out and if they deal a 'mortal' blow, like to the neck or if they 'incapacitate' you are also out. Remember this is supposed to be life-like." Whitefang's voice broke through the clearing. All cats nodded at him. "Ready, steady... Start!"

Almost immediately Haretail and Gustsong fell into defensive positions, side by side, waiting for the other cats to attack. Their opposition padded forwards, carefully. Whitefang was in the middle whilst Swiftfeather and Shorttail were on the side; the two cats slowly branched out and tried to encircle them. Subtly, Haretail nodded at Gustsong and she nodded back at him. Both cats stayed incredibly still whilst the opposition stalked towards them. Shorttail, who was the closest to Haretail made a mistake by looking at Gustsong. Haretail took the opportunity and leapt towards him. Haretail swiftly adjusted his balance whilst landing and turned onto his side, he then proceeded to slid under the Shorttail's belly, raking his sheathed claws along the soft fur. He bounced back onto all fours out from under him and launched himself at his back. Haretail bit his opponent's scruff, Shorttail expecting this and started falling down onto his back in an attempt to squash the smaller tom. Haretail expected this, and before they could touch the ground, he stuck his legs out and leapt over Shorttail's head; he twisted in midair and landed on Shorttail. The smaller cat then lunged forwards and bit Shorttail's neck and drew his sheathed claws along his belly again. Haretail then swiftly ran back to Gustsong with Shorttail staring at him in shock.

 _Welp. He is way better than I thought, I feel kind of dumb now since I suspected he was bad. I wonder if he would be able to beat Nighfrost, but I haven't seen Nightfrost seriously fight before so I don't know._  Spiritpaw stared at her mentor in amazement. He would be amazing in battle, but surely he could kill a cat? Oh well, Spiritpaw couldn't say anything about cruelty since the killing bite was one of the first moves she learnt.

Haretail and Gustsong regrouped and stood back to back, both on defensive positions. Haretail looked around, his mind going a mile a minute, how were they going to get out of this? Haretail's style worked on surprise attacks, but he couldn't face a bigger and stronger warrior head on with no preparation!]

Whilst Haretail was musing a large figure leapt at him. Whitefang quickly tackled him, bringing Haretail to the ground; Swiftfeather, who was locked in a battle with Gustsong did the same. Soon, all cats were writhing around on the ground. Haretail decided the only way to get out of this was to play dead or incapacitated. So he did, he relaxed his struggling and seized to move. Whitefang slightly let Haretail go, thinking he was defeated, let Haretail go; Haretail tried to spring up, but he was unable to due to the paw that was holding him down. Whitefang smiled at him reared up on back legs; Haretail smirked back and nimbly lunged at his hind legs, effectively unbalancing Whitefang. Haretail then carefully bit down on the larger cats leg and pulled him towards him. When Whitefang was close enough, Haretail lunged for the killing bite; Haretail's jaws were around Whitefangs neck and his hind paws were on his shoulders but Whitefang only smiled at him. Just then, Haretail realized that Whitefangs hind legs were on his stomach.

Haretail sighed, a bit disappointed; his face didn't change though, so no one was able to know, well apart from Spiritpaw because she spent so much time with him. Haretail though that he would be able to beat the senior warrior with his invented move, guess not.

"We are both dead now then, good fight." The smaller cat's monotonous voice broke the silence between them.

"You did well young warrior." Whitefang kindly responded.

"Thank you."

They padded of the fighting arena and settled down next to Shorttail, to watching Gustsong's fight.

Gustsong's and Swiftfeather fight... Wasn't really interesting, per se. Swiftfeather was clearly overpowered. Gustsong had the upper paw practically all the time, however, it looked like she was toying with Swiftfeather. When Swiftfeather would try to attack the taller car she would either dodge or jump away. This cycle was repeating itself again and again. Swiftfeather got impatient and lunged forward; this was the moment Gustsong was waiting for. Gustong dodged and let Swiftfeather sail past her; when Swiftfeather landed, Gustong yanked her tail. Swiftfeather lost her balance and stumbled backwards, using this as a chance Gustsong leapt forwards onto her smaller opponent and bit her neck. This concluded their and everybody else's fight.

Whitefang stood up stretching with a murmur of "all right, let's go.".

"Apprentices, tell us what we did wrong and right." Gustsong mewed, padding forwards.

All apprentices glanced at each other, uncertain. No one wanted to answer first; it was only natural.

"Anyone?" Gustsong tried again.

Spiritpaw braced herself, guess she would be the one to speak.

"Well, Haretail started with a semi-surprise attack that caught Shorttail off guard since he was watching Gustsong. Haretail also used his size and Shorttail's hesitation to his advantage. Uh, Haretail tried to be forward and didn't analyze the situation when he was fighting Whitefang. In a real situation, Whitefang sacrificed his life to kill another, uh, which isn't ideal? Swiftfeather got too impatient and acted rashly and fell into Gustsong's trap and Gustsong waited too long to finish off her opponent I think?"

"Nice, at least one of you decided to speak. Good job Spiritpaw that's correct, just go more in depth next time." Gustsong mewed back and Spiritpaw dipped her head in a silent 'thanks'. Gustsong then continued talking. "Ok then, now that you've watched the pro's it's your time to fight."

"We have put you in groups depending on your relationships and skill levels," Haretail explained in a rather bored tone, well he always spoke in a bored tone but still. Spiritpaw and Ryepaw glanced at each other, they had a pretty good chance at being on the same team. "We decided to put Ryepaw, Hazelpaw and Rabbitpaw together. Which leaves us with Spiritpaw and Goldenpaw on the same team."

Spiritpaw stared at Haretail in annoyance. She slowly broke his gaze and stared at her sister, who was staring at her rather  _forcefully_. 

_Foxdung._

**Yayyyyyy!**

**I have finally I have updated! Say thank you, those who read this. Some things are going to be happening soon ;)**

**Watch out for updates!**

**Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!**

**(23.1.2019)**

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for checking this story out :)


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